79% of Pinoys believe Arroyo cheated in 2004

Four of five Filipinos believe President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo cheated and engaged in corruption in the 2004 presidential elections, according to a survey conducted by militant think tank IBON Foundation. IBON released its findings Friday, the same day the Supreme Court issued a decision allowing the airing of the controversial "Hello Garci" tapes. IBON noted an increasing trend in those who believe President Arroyo engaged in both cheating and corruption. "The IBON January 2008 survey showed that 79% of 1,503 respondents believed that there were truth to allegations that the chief executive engaged in corruption and cheating in the 2004 elections, from 64.2% in the January 2007 survey round and 74.2% in October 2007," it said. On the other hand, 2.79 percent believed President Arroyo engaged only in corruption as of January 2008, down from 3.88 percent in January 2007, 3.90 percent in July 2007 and 3.34 percent in October 2007. Some 4.39 percent believed President Arroyo engaged only in cheating in 2004 as of January 2008, down from 7.17 percent in January 2007, 3.83 percent in July 2007, and 7.48 percent in October 2007. Only 3.46 percent believed there was no truth to President Arroyo's involvement in cheating or corruption in the 2004 elections, down from 4.09 percent in January 2007, 5.11 percent in July 2007 and 3.74 percent in October 2007. Some 9.05 percent said they did not know. The January 2008 IBON survey was conducted nationwide from January 7 to 14 with a total of 1,503 respondents. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. - GMANews.TV